In August, reserves gained $727 million, mainly driven by the receipt of the first tranche – worth $500 million – of a promised $2 billion deposit from Qatar.

Finance Minister Momtaz El-Said was quoted by state media earlier in October as saying that procedures for the second tranche of the deposit, also worth $500 million, have been finalised, indicating that the deposit is on its way.

Egypt's net foreign reserves[3] nearly halved in the aftermath of January 2011's popular uprising which put the brakes on business and tourism activity.

But the figure began to stabilise around April 2012, following a relative upturn in tourism receipts and the arrival of Qatari funds.

Egypt's balance of payments deficit widened to $11.3 billion in the 2011/12 financial year which ended in June, up from $9.8 billion the year before.